ThinkFast: June 27, 2007

A new poll finds that “liberal ideas” are gaining with young Americans, who are “more likely than the general public to favor a government-run universal health care insurance system, an open-door policy on immigration and the legalization of gay marriage.”

In its forth and final installment on the influence and power of Dick Cheney, the Washington Post details the Vice President’s quiet control over energy and environmental laws. Paul Hoffman, a Cheney appointee at the Interior Department, explained, “His genius is that he builds networks and puts the right people in the right places, and then trusts them to make well-informed decisions that comport with his overall vision.”

The number of adults without health insurance jumped by 2 million from 2005 to 2006, according to a new report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The United States has invested $19 billion to train and equip nearly 350,000 Iraqi soldiers and police since toppling Saddam Hussein, but the ability of those forces to provide security remains in doubt, according to the findings of a bipartisan congressional investigation to be released today.”500: Number of Christian families who have left the Dora district in Baghdad because of the “chaos.” “The flight of Dora’s Christians is an example of how the initial phase of the U.S. security crackdown here has failed to establish security and stop the sectarian ‘cleansing’ of Baghdad’s neighborhoods.”

Violence is surging against women in Afghanistan. While the “lives of Afghan women and girls have improved vastly since the 2001 fall of the Taliban…this month has seen a rising number of attempts to quash these advances with threats and violence.”

And finally: Former Sen. Dean Barkley (D-MN) is on the market for a mate.Barkley has a profile on Match.com, where he says that he is looking for a woman “younger than him, whose turn-ons would include ‘brainiacs,’ ‘erotica,’ and ‘thunderstorms.’” He also admits, “I am a star trek nut along with star wars.”